John McFerran

John McFerran is an Associate Professor in the School of Physics, Maths and Computing at the University of Western Australia (UWA). He holds roles including Masters/PhD supervisor, lecturer, researcher, and Academic Conduct Advisor. His research focuses on optical frequency synthesis (frequency combs), optical atomic clocks, and laser spectroscopy, with a particular emphasis on ytterbium-based clocks and tests of the Standard Model via isotope shift measurements. He has developed a cold atom optical clock at UWA and led projects such as the ARC Future Fellowship (2012–2016) and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (2018–2019).

Education & Previous Positions:

• PhD in Physics from UWA (2003)
• Postdoctoral Researcher at Observatoire de Paris (France), XLIM Institute (France), and Durham University (UK)
• Guest Researcher at NIST Boulder (USA) and LNE-SYRTE (France)

Teaching: Courses include Atomic Physics (PHYS3001), Frontiers of Modern Physics (PHYS3012), Electromagnetism (PHYS2001), and Physics Bridging (PHYS1030).

Research Projects:

• Developing ultracold ytterbium optical lattice clocks
• Measuring isotope shifts and nuclear parameters in ytterbium
• King plot analyses for Standard Model tests

Awards:

• ARC Future Fellowship (2012–2016)
• Scientific Mobility Travel Award (France, 2013)

Grants & Funding:

• ARC Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems (2018–2019)
• A Southern Hemisphere Ground Station for Atomic Clock Ensemble in Space Mission (ARC, 2011–2016)

Labs & Teams: Leads the Atomic Clock Lab (www.atomicclocklab.net), focusing on precision measurement technologies and quantum systems.